Teenager or Monster?
by Orange Ratchet
Summary: Having discovered that she turns into a monster whenever she overreacts, Katie Ka-Boom becomes afraid of her own self, and decides to run away, to make sure her family is safe from her own temper. But as she travels far, will she learn that maybe her other self isn't all that bad?
1. A Normal Day?

I bet you guys are probably wondering what bought this story on. Well, I had recently binge-watched Animaniacs after I bought the Complete Series on DVD (all four seasons and the Wakko's Wish movie), and after watching it, I found myself enjoying the show more than I did as a kid! Then again, I guess anybody who watched this show after a long while would get that feeling. But yeah, last time I did something Animaniacs related was a Chicken Boo piece which... doesn't hold up as much as I liked it to. I'm still keeping the Chicken Boo story up there because it helps me reflect. But this story won't be about Chicken Boo. Oh no, instead, I'm thinking about focusing on another minor character that had her own shorts on the show... but doesn't get the attention as much as the main stars...

This short story (which won't last too long, I say about four or five chapters at best) is about a certain teenage girl known as Katie Kaboom! Why am I writing for her in particular? Well, the shorts, I'm sure most will agree, were mostly showing us how being a teenager can be a pain in most circumstances. But Katie Kaboom sort of takes it to the extreme... but what if she... looked at herself after a while, what if she realizes that getting upset over every single thing might hurt their parents and her little brother? Well, that's what I want to focus on today! So, sit back and relax! Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

In the quiet, little peaceful town of Pleasantville, California, not too far from the busy streets of Hollywood and Los Angeles, inside a quiet little house with a garden in full bloom, lived a family, known as the 'Kabooms'. An unusual last name for a family like this one, but for the eldest sibling of the family, the last name fit her personality to a tee...

_**KABOOM!**_

The sound of an explosion was heard as the nice little house had once again, had a wall collapsing from one end. And deep inside the house, hiding behind the couch were three nervous people looking out, wondering if the teenage girl's bouts of behavior were over and done with.

"Is it over..." A little boy in a light blue shirt, blue shorts, a red hat and white shoes whispered nervously as he peeked out from behind the couch.

Two adults, a brown haired young man with a large blue shirt, brown jeans and black shoes and a light brunette woman with a teal shirt, black jeans and black slip-on shoes looked out nervously as they looked at the target of suspicion who had by now, went back to normal, unaware that something had even happened.

This figure, in question, was a teenage girl, a blonde haired girl wearing a light blue shirt, pink pants and blue shoes was taking a deep breath as she looked over at a calander on the other wall and gave a smile. "Oh. I guess you were right, Daddy. Today IS Friday. And here I was, worrying about my date for nothing. Well, I guess I have some time tonight. I may as well get started on my homework then."

"Uh... sure, that's great, princess." The older man smiled nervously as the teenage girl, known as Katie Kaboom, came over and kissed him on the cheek, before heading upstairs... but not before she noted the fallen wall.

"By the way, Daddy, I think those construction workers you hired last week did a terrible job at repairing the wall. I don't know what's causing it to fall, but you should probably get new workers. Just a suggestion." Katie smiled.

"Uh... I'll look into it, Katie." Katie's father grinned nervously as the three watched Katie go upstairs. As soon as they were sure she was out of earshot, they all sighed in relief.

"I swear, there should be a law against overemotional teenagers..." Katie's mom groaned as she held her head.

"Well..." Tinker sighed in relief as he went over and picked up a nearby camera that was on the table, which had surprisingly escaped harm. "At least she didn't harm the video camera..."

The mother and father looked at each other in concern as he said, "Uh, Tinker, how much of this did it record?"

"Hang on..." Tinker said as he fiddled with the camera and rewound the footage... before his eyes widened. The little boy gulped nervously. "All of it. I don't think I want my teachers to think we're afraid of my sister."

"Probably a good thing..." The mother sighed in relief.

"Trust me, Tinker, you might want to throw that tape away." The father said. "Just throw the old casette out and we can make a new one, start from the top."

"Good idea." Tinker smiled as he quickly ran upstairs. "I'm getting rid of this tape right now..."

The mother and father nodded as Tinker quickly ran upstairs. As soon as he was out of earshot, the father looked over towards the down wall as he gave a sigh. "Another wall broken down... at this rate, our insurance rate is probably going to be non-existent."

"Well, what do you really expect, honey?" The mother asked, raising an eyebrow.

* * *

Meanwhile, inside her bedroom, Katie was humming to herself happily as she started to set up her pencils, paper and textbooks, humming to herself as she happily giggled, daydreaming a little about what her recent date tomorrow would entail with her recent boyfriend. She sighed happily as she couldn't help but imagine a day out at the movies, followed by a romantic walk in the park, then dinner at a fancy French restaurant... she couldn't but swoon at the idea.

As she did so, she stopped as she covered her mouth. Maybe she could ask for money from her parents, just a little bit... maybe fifty bucks. She grinned as she got up and started to head out of her room.

As she did so, before she could call down to her father as she started to head downstairs, she heard his voice.

"Sheesh, I'm afraid we may be going to the poorhouse if this keeps up."

Katie stopped shortly as the girl raised an eyebrow in curiosity, wondering what her father could possibly mean by that. She peeked out and noticed her father and mother examining the wall as Katie's mother groaned. "How does one teenager do THIS much damage in under two minutes?"

The sweet girl blinked in confusion as her eyes narrowed, wondering what her mother was insinuating. Before she could march downstairs to tell her off, she heard her father speak up.

"Now, honey, maybe we shouldn't be too hard on Katie." The father said as Katie raised an eyebrow. "She doesn't know what she's doing..."

"But every time she goes into a fiery temper and turns into these... abominations, she wrecks the place and won't stop until she gets it out of her system, OR we agree to her ways!" Katie's mother groaned. "This is no way to live!"

"It's not her fault, though. She can't help those erratic... mood swings." Katie's father frowned. "After all, she's only a teenager."

"Yeah, a teenager that turns into a literal monster. That's just how it goes, our baby girl wants something, we refuse it, then she gets angry, we dive down in fear, and no matter how much we try to talk her down, she'll just keep getting angrier and angrier until... well, kaboom! Either the house or the car gets destroyed, and we have to call a repairman to rebuild the entire place... and we lost more of our bank account. All because our little girl either has a boyfriend we don't approve of, or if we don't her clothing, or if we pressure her into driving or if we forget who called her or if her boyfriend is late and..."

"...and what just... happened recently?" The father asked as Katie just watched, trying to make heads or tails with this conversation.

"Exactly. It's a good thing I told Tinker to get rid of that tape showing that temper of hers. Otherwise, I don't know what we would do." Katie's mom groaned.

The part of the tape caught her attention as she raised an eyebrow. She curiously wondered what tape she was referring to, until she noted the door to Tinker's room opening. Katie yelped as she got up and headed back to her room as she left it open a crack as she watched her brother come out of her room, looking around warily as he was taking the video camera with him as he called out, "Okay, I got rid of the tape. I threw it in my trash bin!"

This information was enough to let Katie know to investigate. She couldn't help but be curious as she snuck out of her room and quickly entered Tinker's room as she looked around at the typical little boy stuff that was laying around... before finally spotting the trash bin and a video tape poking out of it. Quickly, she grabbed the tape and ran out of the room as she overheard Tinker say, "How bad is the wall?"

"I think a few nails might do the trick..." Katie's father said as Katie watched the three discuss among themselves. "But we'll have to go to the repairmen to discuss another wall fixing."

"Should we call them?" Katie's mom asked.

"After what happened last time they came over? No, they blocked our number. They told me that if we want repairs done, we'd have to meet them face to face." Katie's father sighed. "I suppose we don't have much of a choice."

Katie paused as she was about to head downstairs before her mother noticed her. "Katie? I thought you were doing your homework."

"Oh, uh..." Katie yelped as she hid the tape behind her back. "I am, I just... forgot to get a pencil downstairs."

"Oh... okay." Katie's mother smiled as she, her father and Tinker nodded. "Honey, we'll be going out for a little while, but we'll be back before dinner. Do you want anything?"

"Uh... bring me a small salad from Antonio's." Katie smiled nervously.

"Are you sure, princess?" Katie's father asked.

"Y-yes, I'm sure. I don't need anything more, just... a small salad." Katie said, looking like she was about to lose it again.

Upon noticing the young woman's looks, Katie's mother whispered, "Maybe we better go."

"Uh... small salad it is. We'll see you later, Princess." Katie's father said as he motioned for the mother and Tinker to go out and go along with them. "I'm sure you know the rules of the household by now, no need for a reminder."

"Yes, Daddy." Katie said, feeling a little calmer. "I'll be upstairs the whole time."

"See you later, Katie." The father smiled as he and the other two quietly slipped out of the house. Katie sighed in relief as she pulled the tape out from behind her back, relieved that they didn't see or question it. Before she could think any further though, she could have sworn she heard the slight screeching of tires as she heard her parents back out. She frowned a little, not helping but noticing that her parents have a tendency to do that lately...

But she wasn't going to be deterred by this. She frowned as she turned on the TV and the cassette player as she put the tape in, and rewound it. "All right, Mom, Dad... just what do you mean by a fiery temper? Just how is it my fault that I destroyed a wall? That doesn't make any sense at all!"

As soon as she was sure the tape had rewound, she hit the Play button... and the minute she did, the next three minutes that she was about to watch was about to change her perspective on life... forever.

* * *

And the first chapter is done! How did you guys like it? Next time, we'll look at what happened earlier today that caused Katie to destroy the wall... AND see her own reaction! There is more to come, so don't miss out! Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!


	2. The True Monster

And now, time for the next chapter of 'Teenager or Monster?'! Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

Static was seen on the screen before picture had appeared, looking as if Tinker had just set the camera on. Tinker gave a smile as he backed away from the screen and smiled. "Hello, my name is Tinker Boom! And this is the project about my family, a... nice sort of family. What do they do with their lives? Well... let me show you."

Katie, watching the little video from the screen, couldn't help but give a giggle. Well, so far, it was pretty cute, she had to admit. On the screen, Tinker took the camera and walked with it as he slowly put it down on a high table, getting a better view of the family, her mother just finished straightening up all the photo frames and her father reading from the paper. Tinker smiled as he continued saying, "This is my mom, and this is my dad. They're a good family. Say hi!"

The father looked up from his paper as he gave a smile. "Oh, hello! Are you doing this for your project?"

"You bet!" Tinker grinned as the mother looked over and smiled. "Just have to show what a good family we all are..."

"Aww..." Katie gave a small smile.

The mother gave a small laugh as she said, "Well, let's just hope Katie's in a good mood today. You never..." The mother's attitude slowly changed from smiling to... fearful as she looked upstairs. "...really know with her."

Katie cocked her head in confusion, wondering why her mother would ever think that. Sure, she got a little mad sometimes, but... she's a teenager! Teenagers are always unpredictable. She couldn't help shaking her head as she continued watching the film, as she heard a familiar voice.

"Oh no, oh no, I'm late!"

Katie gasped as she came out of the room, running downstairs in a panic as she was looking at the mirror and examining her facial features. "Okay, no blemishes, no boils, my make-up is on correctly... I don't want to be late for my date with Dylan!"

The parents and Tinker were looking up at Katie examining herself in the mirror as the Katie watching the TV gave a chuckle. This was from more recent days, like just today, about... she would have to say about an hour or so. Katie couldn't help but laugh about how silly the Katie on the screen was being, worrying about a date that was happening tomorrow.

"Katie, what are you doing?" Her mother asked.

"What does it look like? I'm preparing for my date tonight!" Katie said in worry as she was combing her hair right. "I promised Dylan that I'd be ready by 5:00 today! And it's almost close to 5! We're supposed to have a nice Saturday night together, this is big for me!"

It was at this moment Katie's father raised an eyebrow as he looked at the date. "Saturday? Katie, today's Friday."

"No, it's not Friday! I'm sure today is Saturday!" Katie groaned as she was looking at her hair. "Now, what do you think? Should I have a bun to my hair or no?"

"Katie, sweetie, you're panicking a little bit." Katie's father said in worry. "You got the wrong day, I assure you."

Katie narrowed her eyes as she turned to her parents and little brother, the latter of which, looked fearful as he was already jumping behind the couch. "I'm telling you, it's Saturday. Dylan said that he'll be picking me up soon!"

"Katie, listen to your father." Katie's mother gulped as she was backing away near a closet.

The Katie that was watching the screen looked a little confused on why her mother was acting like she was afraid of her. It's not like-

"...it's Saturday. I know what today is!" The Katie on the screen narrowed her eyes.

"It's only a simple calendar check. Your date with that Dylan, it's not-" Katie's father started.

"I KNOW WHAT TODAY IS!" Katie yelled out, though for some reason, she was yelling it in a monstrous tone of voice.

The Katie watching the screen jumped in surprise as she couldn't help but note that the Katie's eyes in the picture were glowing red with anger. Katie looked worried. Was this... normal?

"I KNOW WHAT TODAY IS!" The Katie on the screen growled as she was starting to shake.

"Oh no, she's turning... again!" Katie's mother groaned as she opened the closet and grabbed some military clothing before putting it on herself and throwing some to Katie's father as he put the helmet on.

"What's happening?" Katie looked confused as she looked over to the Katie on the screen... as something horrifying happened that she had never seen before.

The Katie on the screen was starting to metamorph… into somebody different entirely as green scales started to come out from her arms, her legs started to turn green, and she became more musclebound than usual as her hair went wild and her teeth growing into a grotesque way...

"What in the name of... of... is that thing?" Katie gasped when she noted the monster growling in anger and swiping at the wall.

It was at this moment her father grabbed the telephone and started dialing a number. "911, 911, we have a teenager emergency!"

"Huh?" The Katie watching this looked confused as to why her parents reacted like that... on the other hand, she tried to think back to the times she got angry... she knew that a small thing like her parents not liking her boyfriends or missing a call or even wearing the right clothes had got her angry, but she thought it was pretty tame. If so... then... what was that monstrosity scaring her parents on the screen.

"You never liked my boyfriend at all! You're just making me feel better! Well, I'm not!" The monster yelled at the fearful family as it started to grow in size.

"Katie, honey, please, just take a simple look at the calendar and you'll see you're just overreacting over somethin-" The father started, but the monster would not let him have it.

"I am NOT OVERREACTING! I AM A TEENAGER!" The monster growled as it started to grow in immense size before roaring as...

_**KABOOM!**_

The Katie watching looked a little horrified as she saw that the monster... exploded, leaving not only the living room a mess, but the wall to collapse to one side as where the monster stood was a panting Katie, trying to relax as the three nervous people were looking behind the couch. Katie then looked over to the wall and relaxed a little as she said, "Oh. I guess you were right, Daddy. Today IS Friday. And here I was, worrying about my date for nothing. Well, I guess I have some time tonight. I may as well get started on my homework then."

The Katie watching the screen had seen enough as she pushed stop on the cassette and frowned, turning off the TV as she looked around, seeing the damages all around the room. "This is ridiculous, just some dumb special effects! There's no way I turn into a grotesque monster! That wall falling is just..."

_"How do you know?"_

Katie jumped as she looked around. "Huh?"

_"How do you know for sure those are special effects? This was filmed an hour ago, when would your brother have time to do all that?"_

Katie looked around, trying to find the source of the voice.

_"Don't bother looking for me, Katie. You're not going to find me outside... it's what's on the inside that counts, doesn't it?"_

"Who are you?" Katie narrowed her eyes. "This isn't funny! You better come out right now!"

_"Oh, I can't come out easily, Katie. I can only come out when you have-"_

"I said... COME OUT!" Katie screamed, though the last two words she uttered sounded more monstrous than before as all of a sudden, she transformed into a red eyed green monster that looked ready to destroy.

The monster looked around angrily as it was about ready to swipe at something... until it took a good look in the mirror. The monster curiously got closer to it as it gasped... slowly forming back into a horrified Katie.

"Wh-what was that?" Katie asked.

_"Ha ha ha, I knew you'd eventually meet me. I'm your little green-eyed monster... you, Katie. And now you're starting to understand why everything seems damaged after you get angry... because of you."_

"M-me?" Katie said in worry.

_"Yes... like it or not, you're stuck with me, little Miss Boom. Live with me, die by me... you're a monster to others who witness that fiery little temper of yours!"_

Katie frowned. "M-my temper is not that fiery... is it?"

Katie looked around at the living room again, surveying every bit of damage as she started feeling... afraid. Was this why her mom and dad always had different clothes on whenever she was getting over a tantrum?

_"This wasn't your first little 'teenager' tantrum, you know..."_

Katie gasped as memories began to flood during the times that she and her family were just having a good time, like her dad offering her to drive, one of her latest boyfriends showing up a few minutes late for her date, her father accidentally hanging up on a friend of Katie's before he could take a message... she was starting to wonder if she had transformed into... into that thing as well!

_"No, you don't transform into that thing. You transform into multiple things... multiple monsters depending on what you're upset about..."_

Katie winced as tears started flowing from her eyes. "No... no it can't be true. It's impossible!"

_"Search your feelings. You know it to be true!"_

Katie looked at the mirror again, examining the reflection as she merely touched it. "Is this how my parents and brother see me? As a monster timebomb waiting to go off? I... I'm hurting them... and they don't have the heart to tell me?"

Katie started to bawl as she ran into her room and threw herself on the bed, starting to cry. The blonde haired teenage girl couldn't help but think about all the negative times she had with her temper, now looking back, wondering if she was... hurting her family. And if she hurt her family... she gasped in horror. What if she hurt people she loved... people she knew...

Immediately, she grabbed the telephone and started to dial a number. She waited until she heard someone pick up. "Hello, Dylan. It's Katie. I'm sorry, but... I have to call off our date tomorrow!"

"Wait, wh-" a male voice sounded confused before Katie hung up.

She then got up from her bed and looked out the window towards the evening sky, dawning itself over Pleasantville. Katie looked down in sadness, wondering what to do... wondering about her parents and little brother... how she didn't want to hurt them anymore...

_"Then run."_

Katie paused as she looked up.

_"Run away. They clearly don't want a monster like you living in their home... why bother living here if all you do is scare them?"_

Katie looked over to the sky as she gasped, looking at a photo of her family... as she gave a sigh.

* * *

It was about two hours later, around seven o'clock when the car finally pulled in as Katie's family had came out, her mother bringing in a plastic container.

"Well, at least we'll have the wall fixed by tomorrow morning." Katie's mother gave a grin.

"Thank goodness for that. Now, let's make sure we don't tip off Katie any more than we have to. Heaven knows our insurance won't cover it..." Katie's father said as the family walked in as Katie's father gave a grin. "Katie, we're back!"

Katie's mother smiled a little. "We got your dinner for you! Come on down!"

As Tinker followed suit, they couldn't help but note that the house was... eerily silent. Katie's father paused as she looked concern. "Katie?"

"Maybe she's still doing her homework?" Katie's mother offered as she put the salad down as she went to the living room and went upstairs as she knocked on the door. "Katie, darling? Are you in here?"

Silence came from the door as her mother looked concerned, opening the door. "Katie?"

But when she opened the door, her mother found... there was nobody inside, save for an open window and a ladder that was next to it. Her mother started looking worried as she went to the window and looked down. "Katie?!"

Nobody was below the window, the ladder had been given a hint that it was used. It was at this moment that Katie's mother noted that one of her dresser cabinets was opened and empty. Katie's mother looked worried as she started looking around. "Katie?"

"Er, honey?"

"Yes?" Katie's mother asked.

"You may want to take a look at this!" Katie's father called down in worry.

Immediately, Katie's mother ran down as she noticed Tinker holding a video tape with a note attached to it, looking bewildered as Katie's father raised an eyebrow. Katie's mother approached as she asked, "What's that?"

"I found this next to the TV! It says 'Play me'." Tinker said as the three looked at each other.

Tinker took the note off and put the tape in the VCR as it started to play... and on the screen there was a sad, yet regretful Katie as she backed away and sat down, before giving a sigh. "Mom... Dad... Tinker... by the time you see this video, I'll be long gone, out of Pleasantville. I figured out everything, from the damages to the walls, to even my temper tantrums..."

Her parents and Tinker looked concerned and worried as Katie continued talking, "I saw the video. I saw me... transforming into that... that monster... and terrorizing you guys! And ever since then, my mind began to race and... you're afraid of me... as am I. If I stay with you guys any longer, I might... run us to the poorhouse or worse, get you landed in the hospital. I know you guys never had the heart to tell me what I really was... or maybe you did, and I refused to listen. Either way, I can't stay in Pleasantville anymore if it means I hurt people. And if you're going to call the FBI or the police or whatever... then I may as well live out my days somewhere else... as the monster that you all see me as."

"Oh no..." Katie's mother gasped.

"Oh yes. I think, for the good of all of us, I should leave. Good-bye, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry for ruining your lives..." Katie said. "And I'm sorry I recorded over your video Tinker, it was the only thing nearby."

Katie gave a sad sigh as she turned off the camera... and the video soon started playing from the moment Katie was beginning her transformation as the three adults were looking in fear.

"Katie... ran away?" Katie's parents looked at each other in horror as Tinker gasped.

* * *

Meanwhile, over at the far end of Pleasantville, Katie Ka-Boom was holding a suitcase packed with the essentials as she looked at the sign that said 'You Are Now Leaving Pleasantville'. She gave a sigh as she looked out the area.

"I don't know where I'll end up... but anywhere's better than here..." Katie sighed as she started her journey, little realizing that it was going to be the most perilous journey of her life...

* * *

And with that, the second chapter is done! How did you guys like it? Anyway, read, review, criticize and suggest, folks!


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